In a hole in the ground...
by Pip2
Summary: The meeting of Peregrin and Diamond, in an original view. First 2 chapters, more to come!
1. Memories in the Dark

The Meeting of Peregrin Took and Diamond of Long Cleeve

            "Good night!" whispered Merry. He took his staff in one hand and waved back at Pippin with a wide grin. Pippin nodded and waved back at his dear friend. He and Merry had gone through so much together, and to him it was amazing that they were still the best of friends. Six years and five months had passed since their companions, Gandalf, Bilbo, and Frodo had left at the Grey Havens. It was now May 11th (Rethe 11th in the Shire reckoning…) and soon to become May 12th, if Peregrin didn't get inside quick enough. There had been much commotion at the time over the 2nd disappearance of Frodo and the 3rd of Bilbo, and by then, many of the hobbits in the vicinity had gotten quite used to the frequent comings and goings of the two. But nobody had expected the two to never come back. Pippin, Merry, and Sam were all local oddities, if not celebrities. But by now, things were finally settling down and becoming hobbit-y again, as you might say. 

            Pippin smiled into the darkness, recalling the events that had taken place only six years before. It seemed like an age had passed since he had last seen Frodo's face, shining in the pale moonlight. They had stayed long after the ship had passed out of sight, saying nothing but gazing out over the horizon or lifting their faces to contemplate the stars. Pulling himself out of the past, Pippin chuckled and let out a long, slow, quiet sigh. It had been quite a busy year so far. Sam had been elected mayor of the Shire that very month; Will Whitfoot had regained his girth but lost most of his strength. Sam fit the part perfectly. As for Pippin and Merry, they had not yet found their calling. They still kept in touch with King Elessar, Gimli, and Legolas as well, although for the present they were hiking the trails of Fangorn. 

            Pippin chuckled again at the thought of his adventures with Treebeard. He sighed and turned to go into his now quite comfortable hobbit hole. As he motioned to close the door, he noticed a small pony driven cart making it's way up the hill. "Perhaps those are my new neighbors…?" Too dark to see, Pippin thought no more of it until the morning. 


	2. The Long Expected Breakfast

            Pippin woke at the sound. It had sounded as if something had cracked, broken, or fallen…and it had rung throughout his entire hole. "Must be the new neighbors…" he grumbled. As he skillfully got ready to put the eggs and toast on for breakfast, yet another loud boom came from the hole next to his. "Ugh…" He muttered as he missed the edge of the bowl and let the egg crack on the counter. "This is making me wonder if Grond is making an encore appearance…!" he growled.

            You see, without eating _at least_ his first breakfast, Peregrin was prone to terrible grumpiness. "How can this be?" you ask? We all know that Pip is almost always cheery, curious, inquisitive, and curious. Yes, he's extra curious (in more ways than one, I can assure you…). But if the ever-hungry Pippin doesn't have his breakfast, watch out! Anyway, back to our hobbit, Pip hurriedly threw on his robe and stamped off to his door to see what was making the horrendous racket. The second he opened his round yellow door, there appeared a tall (for hobbit standards) hobbit. "Well at least we've got something in common…" Pippin thought. Before he had time to take in any more features, the tall hobbit started talking. 

            "Pleased to be making your acquaintance, sir!" said the hobbit. He stuck out his hand and took Pippin's – rather too rough for Pippin for that time of the morning, because he began to lose his balance…the hobbit was shaking his hand vigorously. Pippin, being the barely awake and hungry hobbit that he was, not only totally lost his balance, but also became very agitated. He finally loosened his grip and Pip grumbled as he cradled his injured hand. 

            "Are those eggs I smell?" said the hobbit, sticking his head inside Pippin's door. The eggs! Pippin scampered into the kitchen to find it filled with black smoke. 

            "Waste of perfectly good eggs…" said the rude hobbit, now inside Pippin's kitchen – and so close to Pip's ear that the eggs nearly missed the trashcan. Pippin cleared his throat. If he didn't get his breakfast…

 "Is there any way I can help?" asked the hobbit, taking in his surroundings and realizing that this was no normal hobbit hole he was in. And with this came the realization that no normal hobbit could live in an abnormal hobbit hole. He heard Pippin mumbling and grumbling, and soon became scared…this odd hobbit, with black and silver armor above his fireplace, was becoming angry with him. He started to tiptoe towards the door but stopped in his tracks at the new sound coming from his hole next door. 


End file.
